Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Terra Incognita

Over this ocean the familiar lodestar of Polaris never rises. The year is 1769. James Cook's Endeavour is exploring and charting the southern ocean. The alien constellations of the south glimmer above the clouds. Below, in the darker parts of the water, the wheels and pinions of clockwork appear. Due to the careful observation of the sun and stars, in combination with the invention of a reliable marine chronometer, the crew of this ship knows where they are.

Celestial navigation. Their immediate surroundings provide no hint to the crew as to their location. Paradoxically, only by observing distant heavenly bodies, and by knowing the precise time on the other side of the globe, can they determine their exact location.

Sometimes, it is only by observing that which is very far away, that we can determine where we are now.